galaxy a20 and it's nfc capable ... nfc enable/disable switch is gone

I have a galaxy a20 and it's nfc capable - I had several apps I used to read and write nfc tags on wearables etc, but I uninstalled them months back. Now I need them again but after (re)installing they tell me my device has no nfc capability? So I check settings/connections and the nfc enable/disable switch is gone! Must have happened in an update? But why? The hardware hasn't changed right? How to fix this without retrograding my whole system???